Cursed? I think not!
by Mentathial
Summary: Tobias thinks he is cursed but can Beatrice prove otherwise?


The sky looked as if it was on fire when the sun set on the lake and the purple flowers growing on the edge of it. It was a picturesque scene really, except for the young man sitting at the edge of the lake tears slowly making their way down his face. He sat hunched with his arms around himself, as if trying to hold himself together and occasionally raised a hand to wipe his cheeks but the tears kept falling.

"Stop it Tobias boys do not cry," is what he might have told himself a few months ago, but a lot had happened to change his since then. His life had gone started to go downhill, the moment he was born and now he truly believes he is a bad luck omen, that anyone associated with him would die and that he was destined to be alone, not that he cared anymore, loneliness seemed like a friend after all the time he had spent alone, in the dark corners of the street and in all those places where he went, just to drown his sorrow and try again and again to start a new life, only to fail and lose yet another person he loved, but now it seemed that the last straw had come and in all honesty he did not give penny as to who saw him here, crying and screaming because really what could they say that hadn't been said already? Was there even a way left with which they could hurt him, harm him or ruin him, he was just dust, dust that had travelled the world being crushed under shoes only to be thrown in trash cans again and again, only now he was ready to give up, to mingle with the ground and maybe finally not be a burden anymore. This would be a new beginning he thought, as he got up on his own two feet and stumbled with the sun kissed sky behind him, making his way towards a city for which he would never be good enough, not that it mattered. Not anymore, not after her. Now, all he wanted to do was drown in liquor and drugs until there was nothing left to drown and then drown some more, but the idea of wasting her money was so repulsive, that he walked out of the pub before he had even set both his feet inside. She was his mother after all.

Maybe, all he had to do was continue living, but living without companionship so that no one else would be hurt, no one would be ashamed and he would still get to rule the world just like he had wanted to do as a kid. Slowly getting up, he brushed off imaginary dust from himself and headed to the building where his mom's life work and beloved company was. It was time her dying wishes were honored after all.

Years passed as Tobias Eaton built a reputation as a cold hearted, closed off business man. It wasn't like he never helped anyone, he was always the first to do so. Any one in need of anything, whether it be money or food or clothing or shelter could get help from him except those people just found a benefactor never a friend or a shoulder to cry on. Some said he helped to gain publicity while others called him kind and yet others thought he was an asshole who liked to assert that was better than anyone. That was too Snow Whtitish in his opinion, come on, what did they think of him? That he was some evil queen? Despite the laughter these _articles_ caused, he never once bothered because why would he? It' not like he had a reputation to mention in front if anyone but clients and they were by now so old that he could eat fries and discuss deals and still get them, not that he did this of course. Just like he did not bother that every bit of his life was in the media, it's wasn't as if he had anything to hide or for the matter show. Except one tiny thing. It was not like the media did not know about it, they did, they just did not understand what it meant.

Every year he went to the lake on his mom's birthday or the Sunday nearest to it. It was here, he actually found peace, here, he felt like his Mom was with him again, just like she had been when he was a young boy. Most people went to the graves of the people they loved who had passed on but Aaron could not go there again, because as much as he loved her, he loved the memories they had shared here more. Here, where his Mom had been alive and laughing, here where they had smiled and just enjoyed each other's company, hearing stories about the other's life. This was the place where he had always felt secure, like he could do anything and like his Mom was watching over him.

However, that day something about the place was different and it was the little girl picking those purple flowers from the edge of the lake. From where he was standing, he could just see her back. She had long blonde hair and looked about twelve years old. She was wearing a white dress and had a basket in which she was collecting the dead flowers and leaves while watering the good ones. He had never seen her here before.

"Are you an angel?" he croaked out in all his drunken glory and startled the girl jumped, before turning around to face him, her hands on her hips.

"Um… hi?" he asked, staring into her blue eyes, which were glaring at him with such intensity….if only looks could kill before her eyes softened and she smiled.

"Bea Prior," she said, holding out her hand. He stumbled towards her before he fell and the last thing he felt were her hands catching him by the shoulder.

"Sir?" he heard a sweet voice ask when his eyes opened and the first thing he thought of was, why wasn't he passed out at the lake? He usually passed out there, until the sun awoke him with a killer headache and another dreadful office day. You know, your usual rainbows and unicorn life. Not.

"Sir, are you alright?" A feminine voice asked him, while holding a glass of water to his lips. His head hurt and the sunlight falling in his eyes was not helping, but he was grateful for the water nonetheless, at least until the shouting began.

"Is he okay?" a voice yelled, sending spikes of pain through his head, before another voice whispered, "shh, he is asleep!"

Groggily, he got up and black met blue. He saw that her hair was disheveled and that she had changed into a white shirt and blue denim shorts.

"You alright?" she asked, handing him a pill and a glass of water before letting him go with nothing but a thank you. However, from that day on wards, he went to the lake every single, hoping to catch a glimpse of her, he was nothing but a silent admirer and yet he learnt more about her than he had about any of his jerk faced colleagues. It was good, not being a stalker, but thinking that he could always help her if she needed, that is until the day she caught him.

"And so you were spying on me because?" she asked, smiling, but he could see the anger blazing in her eyes.

"Because I wanted to repay you for taking of me that day," he blurted out a moment too soon, rationally he should have run away.

"Oh! Well, then you can keep watching," she said and walked off.

Maybe he would have stopped coming that day, but concern for her kept pulling him forward, day after day until the day they became friends and then to the day they kissed. And now sitting beside their grandchildren, all he can do is smile as he recalls how she had pacified him again and again that he was not cursed and how happy he is that she did because if she hadn't, he would not have had the happy life he did and never realized that bad things happen because they can but good ones happen because they are meant to, just like her and him were meant to be.


End file.
